Oakland Raiders trade for Buffalo Bills wideout Zay Jones

The Oakland Raiders were severely short-handed at wide receiver in their Week 5 win over the Chicago Bears, so they decided to bring in reinforcements Monday.

During the Oakland Raiders Week 5 victory over the Chicago Bears in London, England, starting wide receiver Tyrell Williams and J.J. Nelson both missed the game due to injury. With those two out of the game, the Raiders relied heavily on Trevor Davis, Hunter Renfrow, and Keelan Doss, not exactly a dominating trio by any means.

On Monday, the Raiders made a move to bolster their wide receiver room, trading for Buffalo Bills wideout Zay Jones. Jones, a 2017 second round draft pick of the Bills, is the all-time NCAA Division I leader in receptions with 399, including an NCAA record 158 in his final season at East Carolina.

As a member of the Bills, Jones never developed into the WR1 that the team was hoping when they drafted him to take the place of Robert Woods. Instead, Jones appeared in 15 games as a rookie, making ten starts, and racked up only 316 yards and two touchdowns.

Truth be told, Jones was playing with a torn labrum, and rebounded in year two to double not only his reception total, but more than double his yardage, and found the end zone seven times. In four games this season, he has only seven receptions.

For Jones, the Raiders sent away a fifth round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, so it is not like they had to mortgage the house to get him. He has all the things you look for in a starting wide receiver, but he has yet to put it all together at the NFL level, something the Raiders coaching staff will have to try to accomplish now that he is a member of the Silver and Black.

Duke Williams basically took Jones’ spot in the Bills rotation at wide receiver, appearing in 50 of the team’s 64 snaps last week, against Jones’ one. Jones is only 24-years old, and is a very talented wide receiver, but the question is whether or not he can actually help this Raiders team moving forward.